“I have a fucking bad feeling,” I muttered.
Nino narrowed his eyes in thought. “You think he knows about the party incident?”
“Fuck if I know. He sounded pissed.”
“Maybe we should tell him that we’ve known about the incident for a while,” Savio suggested with a shrug. “Better than keeping up the lie and having it explode in our faces later.” He let out a chuckle. “Who would have thought that Nevio would be the one to cause a sex scandal. It should have been me.”
“You could still cause one, but Gemma would rip you a new one, and I’d help her,” I said. I’d never thought Savio could be faithful at all, but Gemma seemed to be what he needed.
“The only sex scandal I’m up for is being caught having sex in public with Gemma.”
“How about we return to the matter at hand?” Nino asked.
I gave a terse nod. “Tell your sons to get their asses over here. Maybe they know more. Or have heard from Nevio. Serafina is starting to worry, and I’m getting pissed.”
“You weren’t before?” Savio asked with a cocked eyebrow.
I didn’t remember the last time I wasn’t pissed at Nevio. He had an uncanny talent to cause trouble. I really hoped it would grow out of him soon. He needed to be more responsible if he wanted to become Capo one day.
Massimo and Alessio entered the room after Nino a few minutes later, both with unreadable expressions. I wasn’t kidding myself into believing that their loyalty to me trumped their loyalty to Nevio. These three were usually attached by the hip.
“What’s going on?” Massimo asked, glancing from Nino to me.
“Nevio is in trouble, and so by proxy, you two are probably as well,” Savio said.
Alessio and Massimo exchanged a look, one I couldn’t decipher.
“We suspect that Fabiano found out about the party incident,” Nino said, eyeing his son closely. “Or is there something else that might upset Fabiano?”
“I’m pretty sure nothing could upset Fabiano more than Nevio taking Aurora’s innocence. Isn’t that enough?” Alessio asked with a sarcastic laugh.
Nevio always found ways to make an already bad situation worse. He lived for mayhem.
“So you two are unaware of further developments that might cause us trouble?”
Another look passed between them. Sometimes they reminded me of twins. Nevio and Greta, too, had shared looks that no one but them could read.
“I’m about to lose my shit. If Fabiano tells me something you two should have warned me about, then there will be hell to pay.”
“Your loyalty to Nevio is admirable, but first and foremost, your loyalty should be with Remo.”
The door ripped open, and Giulio stomped in. “Fabiano is here with Aurora and Leona, and a baby that looks like Nevio when he was little.” His voice was eager as if he could smell that trouble was afloat. He too lived for it. My genes had really gone all in with my sons.
Then his words registered, and my heart started pounding in my chest. “A baby?”
Giulio nodded with a grin. “Like a little Nevio.”
“Fuck it,” I growled. I definitely hadn’t fathered a kid, so that left one conclusion. My son had impregnated someone. “Don’t tell me Nevio impregnated Aurora!”
“If their first sexual interaction had been at the party, she couldn’t have had his child,” Nino said, as if I couldn’t do math.
“Who knows if they didn’t have sex before!” I stalked toward Massimo and Alessio looking from one to the other.
“It’s not Aurora’s child,” Massimo said, looking calm and composed.
I had half a mind to grip his throat, but he was Nino’s son, so I controlled my first impulse. “How long have you known?”
Quick female steps came closer, and Serafina appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide with shock and her face flushed.
I ran a hand through my hair. I really wished I could have kept this from her, but one look at her told me she’d just seen little Nevio. “I think we should all talk to Fabiano now.”
“Remo,” Fina said slowly.
I touched her lower back. “I don’t know any more than you.”
When we entered the common room, Fabiano was pacing back and forth with a look of agitation on his face. Leona sat beside Aurora on the couch, and the latter had a baby on her lap. Dark hair and eyes. And the typical Falcone features.
“Fuck it!” I snarled, causing the baby to burst into tears.
“You still got it,” Savio said with a chuckle as he walked past me to get a closer look at Nevio’s kid. He let out a whistle.
I motioned at Aurora and the baby. “Would someone care to explain what the hell I’m seeing here?”
Fabiano stopped and stretched out his arms to both sides with a bitter laugh. “Apparently, your son got a girl pregnant, who then dropped the kid off, and he decided it was a good idea to let Aurora take care of the baby for weeks.”
Gemma came in with a look of confusion. “What’s going on?”
Giulio perched on the backrest with a devilish smile. “Nevio’s in trouble!”
Gemma looked at the baby and blew out a breath before she walked over to Savio. I shook my head.
“Maybe someone should get Kiara so she can be in on the fun,” Savio said with a laugh.
“This isn’t funny!” I growled.
“Maybe not for you, Grandpa,” Savio said. I had half a mind to kick his ass. I still remembered the times when he’d driven me crazy with his antics, but in comparison to Nevio, he’d been a saint.
“Maybe we should allow Aurora to tell the story since she seems to be the one who knows the details,” Nino said in his usual logical manner.
I motioned at Aurora to start. She swallowed, still rocking the child on her thighs. The words of what had happened since the boy’s mother had abandoned him rushed out of her. She didn’t mention the party, or if there had been any other similar encounters between Nevio and her, but I had a feeling the party hadn’t been the end of it. That wasn’t my main concern right now, though. I was fucking relieved that Fabiano didn’t know about that yet.
“So you took care of Battista for six weeks?” Serafina asked softly and walked over to the sofa. She sank down beside Aurora, but Battista had his face buried against her chest.
“You should have told someone,” I gritted out. I was torn between anger over this major secret that she’d kept for Nevio and admiration for taking care of a baby that wasn’t even her own, when she was only eighteen. That girl was a better mother figure than many much older women, such as the kid’s actual mother.
“Do you know where Nevio is?” I asked.
She shook her head with a look of anger. “He was supposed to watch Battista today, but he never showed up.”
“I assume he left most of the work of taking care of the baby up to you?”
She nodded. “He tried to be there for us, but it was difficult for him to accept that he was a father. Carlotta helped me with the babysitting.”
Was she actually defending him? After all the shit he pulled.
When I’d found out I had kids, I had known one thing for certain: that I would take care of them, that I would take full responsibilities and that their needs would trump my own.
The kid looked at me, and it hit me like a fucking sledgehammer again. “Fuck him!” I snarled.
“Remo,” Serafina said reproachfully because Battista had started crying again. She rubbed his back, but he pressed closer to Aurora. He was obviously very attached to her.
“Poor baby has gone through so much,” Serafina murmured. I could see her motherly instincts rearing up again, but this kid wasn’t our child. It was Nevio’s.
Still, I could already feel my own protectiveness rise. This boy was now a part of our family.
I turned to Massimo and Alessio. “Where is Nevio? No more lies. This is too serious for your loyalty bullshit.”
“We don’t know,” Alessio said with a shrug.
“He disappeared without a word. We haven’t seen or talked to him in more than twenty-four hours. Maybe he’s on a raid to clear his head.”
I doubted it.
Our last conversation flitted through my mind.
I’ll leave if I ever fear of breaking my promise. Was this the case? “Check his room. Are his clothes gone?”
Massimo and Alessio left.
“Do you think he’ll be gone for longer?” Fina asked quietly, her eyes wide with concern.
“Running away from his responsibility,” Fabiano said with a scoff.
I hadn’t told Fina about my conversation with Nevio. It would only make her worry more. “He’ll be back.” I didn’t feel the same conviction that my voice conveyed.
“How long have you known about this?” I asked Fabiano.
“Today. If I’d known before, I would have told you and kicked Nevio’s ass for burdening Aurora with a task like that. She’s pretty much a child herself.”
“I’m of age. And I’ve been taking good care of Battista.”
“Nobody doubts that,” Nino said. “But it shouldn’t have fallen upon you to take care of Nevio’s child.”
“Exactly,” Fabiano said, then his eyes met mine. “Did you know that Aurora and Nevio had sex?”
“Dad!” Aurora cried, her cheeks blushing furiously. “I never said that.”
“Do you think I was born yesterday? One look at your face and I know it’s true,” Fabiano growled. “I’ve interrogated too many people not to be able to read expressions.”
“I would prefer torture to this mortification,” she muttered, avoiding everyone’s eyes. Leona patted her knee.
Fabiano crossed the room and stopped in front of me. “Did you know?”
“Yes,” I admitted, even if it would hurt Fabiano’s trust in me. But if I kept lying, it would only make things worse.
“What about the promise we made after our death battle? I took it seriously. You obviously didn’t.”
“Our children’s sex life is a private matter, so I guess Remo didn’t want to break Nevio’s trust,” Leona said.
Fabiano scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what happened. How many more of you knew?” He looked around.
“Great! So everyone knew except for me?”
“I didn’t know!” Giulio said quickly.
“Did you know as well?” Fabiano turned to Leona, who gave him a stern look. “I didn’t. But if Aurora had confided in me about something like that, I wouldn’t have broken her trust by telling you. She didn’t, though.” She gave Aurora a look, which made the latter sink even lower into the cushions.
“The only sex I care about is the one that created that baby!” I muttered, but one look at Fabiano’s face told me he definitely wouldn’t drop it easily.
“I don’t know anything about the mother, except that she’s not from the States and probably already fled the country,” Aurora said quickly, obviously glad for the topic change.
“Figures,” I muttered.
Alessio and Massimo returned. “Some of his clothes are gone, but none of his weapons,” Massimo said.
“What does that mean?” Fina asked, a hint of panic in her voice. She rose to her feet and came over to me.
“That he’s taking a flight,” I said.
Fina gripped my arms. “But where could he go?”
“We’ll find him,” I said firmly, kissing her mouth, then gently prying her off.
“We should give Adamo a call in case Nevio shows up there despite the evidence hinting to another scenario,” Nino said.
I doubted that would be the case, but Nino was right, and Adamo needed to know anyway. “Do that.” Nino took out his phone and went over to a corner of the room to have quiet.
“Maybe he’s with Greta,” Fina said. “I’ll give her a call.”
“Don’t say anything about the kid yet.”
She nodded slowly. Greta couldn’t carry children because of her injuries, and Nevio had a kid that he obviously didn’t want.
I fixed Aurora with my eyes. The baby had fallen asleep in her arms, one of his hands clutching her right thumb. “Battista has lost too much in the last few weeks. If you take him from me now, it’ll be too much for him. You’re all strangers to him.”
I nodded. I could tell that Battista and Aurora had formed a bond, and the boy needed someone he trusted for now.
“You can’t return to the apartment. While I hunt Nevio down and make sure he gets a fucking grip, I want you to keep watching the baby like you have done so far.”
Aurora hesitated. “But if I move out, Diego will insist that Carlotta moves back to his house, too.”
That wasn’t my problem. “I won’t have my grandson anywhere but inside this mansion.”
She nodded. And I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was a fucking grandpa. What a mess. I didn’t feel old, and I could still kick anyone’s ass, but now I had a grandchild. Greta and Amo had discussed having children, and Fina had even agreed to help them once they felt ready, but I hadn’t thought I’d become a grandfather this soon.
“She won’t move into the Falcone mansion. Her home is our house,” Fabiano said firmly. His stance was aggressive, and I could tell he wouldn’t budge on this. Usually, this would have made me absolutely raging mad, but I had something to make up to him. Not to mention that our two mansions were very close together.
“I’ll let her live with you,” I said. “But she needs to come over with Battista daily.”
“He’s not with Greta either,” Fina said once she returned from her call with Greta.
I hadn’t expected him to be. Nevio felt volatile, and even he knew that going into Luca’s territory when he felt unstable wasn’t the best idea.
My phone rang. It was the head of the Italian Camorra. My first impulse was to ignore his call. He probably needed help and money again, but then I had a suspicion. “Alvize, what do you need?”
“Remo, your eldest son showed up on my doorstep today. Did you send him to help us?”
Of course, Nevio would go there. The Camorra in Campania was at war on several fronts. This was the perfect place for someone like my son.
The black sheep of the family.
Maybe every fucking family had one. Maybe some would consider Nevio our black sheep. Maybe he did too.
It was bullshit. The Falcone family was a herd of black sheep, with a few gray and even fewer white ones in between. Nevio thought he was the wolf in sheep’s clothing, a risk to us, but he wasn’t. He could fit in if he really tried, but he didn’t want to.
He chose the excitement of a war-torn Camorra over the responsibilities piling up in Las Vegas. And I would tell him exactly that once I saw him in Campania. I’d boarded a flight to Naples two days after I’d found out about Battista and Nevio’s flight.
Naples was where the head of the Camorra in Italy had resided for over a century and where the majority of their business was still conducted, but Alvize, the over seventy-year-old Capo, was hiding away in an estate in the countryside in Campania, and Nevio was there right now.
I was angry.
Fucking furious.
I hadn’t been to Italy, and the Camorra there in a long time. I didn’t see a reason too. Sure, it was where my ancestors had once come from. But the Camorra in Italy right now was a mess, fighting among each other, struggling with the Italian police and Europol. It was a cesspool of intrigue and envy.
They hadn’t given us a second glance when the Camorra in the US had been struggling and weak. Now that we were strong, stronger than they could even dream of right now, they came running, hoping for help, hoping for money. Fuck them.
And still I was heading there now. To kick my son’s ass. The son who had a son himself.
I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
I had never felt ready to become a father, but the moment Greta and Nevio had entered my life, I had been. I had taken responsibility by the balls.
Nevio had run. He was younger than me when I’d been thrown into fatherhood, but not by much. He was less controlled, and what really mattered was that he didn’t have the boy’s mother at his side.
Serafina had been a lioness of a mother. She had been a shining beacon. I’d admired her for it and had wanted to be an equally worthy parent. Battista’s mother was a bitch who abandoned him.
I’d already taken care of my brothers, had fought for a territory and won. I’d lacked control, true, but I’d been better at channeling my violence because years of responsibility had taught me to do so.
Nevio had always had the freedom to follow his violent desires and live them as freely as our lifestyle allowed.
Maybe I should have forced him to restrain himself, giving him more responsibilities and a purpose.
Becoming Capo was in his future, but it was too far off for him to hold on to as an incentive to become a more restrained version of himself.
I didn’t text Serafina or Aurora the outcome of my conversation with Nevio. This was something that needed to be said in person.
Of course, words weren’t needed when I entered the mansion without Nevio by my side. My face was probably a dead giveaway too. I felt like exploding.
Serafina closed her eyes, but when she opened them, a new resoluteness entered her expression. “Our main concern should be Battista right now. He needs a family and love.” She and Kiara exchanged a look, motherly concern filling their faces. What neither of them probably noticed was how Aurora’s arms tightened around the boy.
I wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to help Nevio with a task like this, but from the way the little boy sought her closeness, she’d done a good job.
“What are your thoughts on the matter, Aurora?” I asked. It was strange to think that after meeting my children several months after their birth due to the circumstances, the same thing now happened with my grandchild too. Fuck. I never thought I’d be a grandfather at my age. I really wanted to kick Nevio’s fucking ass.
Surprise crossed Aurora’s face. She swallowed and squared her shoulders. “Battista has lost his main attachment figure only two months ago and had to get used to me and Nevio as his new caregivers. Now Nevio left too. I don’t want Battista to lose another person in his life. Right now, I’m the only one he is attached to, so taking that from him would be cruel.”
I seriously doubted the kid’s mother had been any kind of attachment figure. If anything, she’d probably caused the kid attachment issues for life. He was better off without her.
But fuck Nevio for not being up to the task of being what the boy needed.
“Do I understand correctly that you want to keep caring for the boy for now?”
Fabiano walked back and forth in the room, his face on the verge of an outburst. I got it. He must be pissed about the situation. His eyes slanted to me, and I could see the same anger in them as five days before. I couldn’t blame him. Nino and I had kept things from him, important information about his daughter. I was glad he hadn’t packed his bags yet. That he was still here and willing to work on a solution for a fucking nightmare of a situation showed how loyal he was.
“This is insane. You’re eighteen. You have your whole life ahead of you. This isn’t even your child, and even if it were, nobody would blame you if you handed his care off to someone else. You’re almost a child yourself. You should live life to the fullest, not be bound by this responsibility.”
“I’m not a child, Dad. Growing up in our world makes it impossible to stay a kid for long, not just the boys who become Made Men.”
Leona sat there silently. She was generally a more quiet participant whenever arguments arose between our families, which had happened rarely. “I’m sure Serafina and Remo would gladly take care of Battista as his grandparents. That way you could move back to your apartment.”
Fina nodded enthusiastically. She had already bought clothes, toys, and furniture for the kid. “Of course, we would raise him until Nevio returns.”
Fabiano scoffed. “If he returns. And let’s be honest here, he still won’t be father material then. He’s a fucking mess. He’s lucky I haven’t bought a ticket to Naples yet to end his sorry ass for what he did to Aurora.”
I gritted my teeth. Threatening my son, the future Capo, was something that didn’t sit well with me, but fuck, Fabiano had every reason to hate Nevio right now. As his father, even I wasn’t happy about any of this. He’d messed up royally, and I wasn’t sure he’d ever redeem himself.
“Ultimately, it’s your decision as the head of your family if you’re willing to have Battista stay under your roof, but like Aurora said, the boy needs consistency. She can live here.”
“You know full well that this isn’t about the boy living under my roof. It’s about Aurora. Nevio has done nothing to deserve Aurora’s sacrifice.”
I nodded. I wasn’t blind to Nevio’s many faults. I met Aurora’s gaze. “I think we can all agree that he doesn’t deserve you.”
“I know,” she said. “Maybe one day he will.”
“You really think that?” Fabiano growled. “You are too clever to be foolish.”
“First and foremost, I’m doing this for Battista, not for Nevio, so it doesn’t matter,” she said defensively.
Aurora reminded me of Fina in some ways. Like me Nevio seemed to be drawn to the light when it came to women. And like me, Nevio had given up said woman. Fina had returned to me and I’d won her back. I hoped Nevio would manage to do the same.
